Why the reluctance - Tun M asks Boeing

Starting his blog entry with a condolence note to the families of those onboard of AirAsia’s QZ8501, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed questioned Boeing’s reluctance to install deployable flight data and voice recorder system for commercial aircraft.

He said according to the report, unlike Boeing, Airbus is ready to move forward with a deployable flight data and voice recorder system for commercial aircraft.

“I cannot understand why Boeing is against it,” he wrote in his blog, the first entry for this year.

The former prime minister said the article published on Flight International magazine entitled, “Searching for Answers”, stated that Boeing which has installed deployable recorders on at least three military aircraft fleets.

However, the company is of the opinion that the technology is not appropriate or safe for commercial transport.

“Just imagine if this recorder and beacon is installed on the Air Asia Indonesia aircraft or MH370, we would not have to search the oceans for the planes,” he wrote on chedet.cc.

AirAsia’s QZ8501 which went missing on Sunday with 162 people onboard was found to have crashed into the Java Sea. Search and rescue (SAR) operations are on the way to bring back the bodies but efforts are being hampered with bad weather.

“The Airbus concept involves deploying one of the two sets of flight data and cockpit voice recorders in the event of a mid-air collision or impact with the ground. The deployed unit includes a locator beacon, and is designed to float if the crash occurs in water,” Dr Mahathir wrote.

He said an article in FlightGlobal.com published on Dec 2006 reported that Boeing had received a US patent for a system that allows seizure of an aircraft by remote control as a means to prevent terrorist hijacking.

He said despite that, Boeing is not willing to make finding lost planes easier or faster.

“Boeing had made no comment on its powerful capability. And MH370 has not been found till now. And now Boeing seems to be unwilling to make finding lost aircrafts easier and faster, possibly saving lives as well. Why,” he asked.

Today marks 300 days since the MH370 went missing with 239 passengers and crew members.